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Zadash
Built around a trio of spiky peaks, Zadash is a large city south of Rexxentrum in the Dwendalian Empire. 'History' This city was once the capital of the Julous Dominion, the last empire to be conquered by the Dwendalian Empire. It was brought under Dwendalian rule at some point nearly two centuries before 826 P.D. As opposed to erasing Dominion society, the Dwendalian Empire instead merged their own way of life, laws, and rules with those of the people of Zadash and adjusted as they saw fit. 'Demographics' Size-wise, Zadash is comparable to the metropolis of Port Damali , though where Zadash was tall, Port Damali was more spread out. Most of the populace that was seen by the Mighty Nein beyond the city walls consisted of humans, with the occasional halfling and dwarf. 'Layout' The outer walls of Zadash form a sort of triangular shape The Pentamarket is in the central western portion of the city. The East and West Outersteads, are found on the outer cusps of the city, and extend through the cities slums and beyond to border the outside of the main wall. In the northern portion of the city lies the Tri-Spire. In the southeastern quadrant of the city was the King's Hall, which was devoted to the military and crown's guard garrison . The Interstead Sprawl formed a central connecting ring around and through all the other areas of the city, this area was where the more middle-class individuals resided and generally helped to hold the city together. 'Architecture' The architecture and building were designed to rise and almost seem to curve towards the streets when looking up at. 'Outer Walls' Around the southern walls of the city, crop workers wearing heavy shawls and head coverings harvested various vegetables and crops from the fields surrounding the city. Closer to the city, the fields gave way to ramshackle communities of tent cities and hovel towns outside the protective bulwarks of the city walls. The city walls themselves were 15 feet high and formed a somewhat triangular perimeter outline around the city. Near the southern gate, the foot traffic grew heavier and led to a 15-foot-wide portcullis that was being held aloft by large chains. Two pairs of Crown's Guards flanked each side of the entry gate, keeping a silent watch. 'Beyond the City Gates' Emerging beyond the threshold beyond the entry gate of the southern wall, the smell of wet earth manure immediately was in the air, and was accompanied by the sound of hooves, mingling conversations, distant shouts, and the barking of dogs. The building flanking the street nearest to the gate were quite destitute, though the building began to graduate into a standard village feel. Beyond the outer walls, the city looked to have a number of perimeter walls that had arches between them, almost like under a bridge. Forming small tunnel gaps, which were around 15-20 feet in length, but 40 foot wide, there were small tunnel build through them. The tops of these large separation barriers like tunnels were what looks to be carts that move on their own along these wall tops. On the outskirts of the city proper, there were folk on the streets that sat on the sides peddling handcrafted wears and whatever they could muster to try and make ends meet. 'Pentamarket' Central to Zadash, a number of streets that bisect it, naturally carve a pentagonal shape and the interior between all of these streets had since become the center of most merchant business. There was kind of a bazaar set up in the center of the district, where cart, tents, and buildings were set up, all day, every day as an open market. Though the Pentamarket had a variety contained a variety of shops it didn't have the high value good. Some of the business that could be found in the market included small dumpling establishments, simple glassware shops, and blacksmith shop that make simple repairs. Cresting Into fall, carts filled with mulled wine and confectionaries could be found in the market. Arriving in the city on a cold rainy day, Beau and Mollymauk went out to buy themselves Mulled wine, and a baker’s dozen worth tarts worth 6sp, for Jester . 'Invulnerable Vagrant ' This large building of stained wood with green-gold velvet hanging on the outside was magically warded and was thus seen by the Mighty Nein to be untouched by the elements. In each of the doors to this establishment were little slits of glass that reveal a warm lit interior that is glowing from the inside out. Above these doors, carved delicately into a wood placard, was the name of the establishment. The interior of the building was quite warm and was lit all throughout by lanterns that floated in the air. Made of little glass chambers, these slowly gyrating lanterns contained candles within them which flickered together as though a wind was blowing over their flames. The inside of the chamber had a long table with a few small books laid out, and on a velvet raised platform looked to have been a long blade like rapier, jeweled and gorgeous. On the back wall there was a shelf that was just filled with books upon books. In front of this shelf was a desk. The proprietor of this establishment was Firbolg named Enchanter Pumat Sol , who ran it with the help of his three magically manifested duplicates. The proprietor insisted that this establishment require of its visitors more cleanliness, than the state that Caleb had walked in in. Pumat Sol ran a business for profit that deal in the sale, trade, craft and enchantent of magic and magic based items. Although they had an assortment of all manner of items, Caleb had suspected that the shop dealt with mostly used items. Some of the items that were available for sales and trade included: *A Fantastic Haversack *Ink used in the ritualistic design and presentation of arcane symbols, scribes and glyphs *Ink enchanted for various uses in manifestation. *Stacks of parchment and paper *Greater healing potion: 200gp/ vial *Basic/ General Healing potion: 50gp/ vial 'Hearth of the Allhammer' This shrine to the Allhammer was a domed iron structure that was slightly rusty due to lack of upkeep. Its interior had a beautiful heavy anvil used for creating craftwork. 'Sparkhammer Smithing' Operated by Yannick Dumel , and Jan, this blacksmithy forged larger more intricate items and had rows and racks of various pieces of armor and weapons on display on the inside. Trading in two daggers, two hand crossbows, two light crossbows, two heavy crossbows, and the manticore chains, Jester acquired a handaxe and received 25gp in excess. 'Lodge of the Eclipse' A tavern where nightime shows would be performed on a stage it had. 'Victory Pit' 'West Outersteads' 'East Outersteads' 'The Leaky Tap' The Leaky Tap is a moderately-sized tavern owned by Claudia Sheed, a friend of Bryce Feelid. Helping run the tavern was a plump white dragonborn barkeep named Wessik the Trim . 'Interior' A simple but very large tavern, there was space enough for at least a dozen tables. While it lacked décor, it seemed to have charm with a rather ratty looking band in a corner that played mostly on key. The tavern was three stories tall, and it had a raftered ceiling that was twelve feet up. A brief spiral staircase towards the far back of the tavern led to a small landing before progressing up to a second floor. There was another staircase further down the hall. 'Office' On the staircase landing, there was a single doorway without signage that led into Claudia Sheed's office. The interior of this office was simple and contained a desk with a chair, a few books and ledgers, scattered papers, and an ink quill. Looking out into an alley, was a single window at the back of the room. The window had a cross beam bisecting into four squares. 'Kitchen and Cellars' Towards the back of the establishment where the kitchen and pantry area was, was a set of stairs leading down into one of the tavern's cellars. This cellar contained large wooden barrels, casks of untapped ale, and a few unopened crates. This area was used by the Knights of Requital as a meeting place. The tavern also had a second cellar where wine was stored. 'Clientele' Most of the patrons that frequented this tavern wore somewhat dusty destitute clothing that looks to be torn and ragged at the edges. Some the patrons could well have been farm hands based on their appearance, though most of the farm work was on the outskirts of outer walls of Zadash. 'Notable Patrons' 'Card Players' Two men were sitting at a table playing "Parker" , and discussing how the quality of alcohol seems to be diminishing, and such thing as the rising prices of irons coming down from the Druvenlode, one of the large mining cities in the Dwendalian Empire . Although these men looked better dressed better than the common riffraff, they didn't look to be particularly well off and seemed to be dressing up beyond their station. The first of these players was an older man in his 50s, with pattern baldness curling back his head into a curled mush of brown hair that graying hair on the outskirts. His partially bloodshot eyes were a deep brown. He was wearing a billowing shirt of a nicer silk, though smelled heavily of alcohol and dirt. The other player was a much younger man that had a scraggly mustache that he seemed to have been growing from childhood and just let it go. He has a button up high collar and a loose cravat. Jester seeing them joined for a game of "Quick Queen's Call". Luck not being on her side she attempted to cheat with the help of Caleb and Nott. The older man noticing that she had been cheating by replacing cards with ones in her sleeves, he told her that he wouldn't report her but did take the gold she had put into the pot, and proceeded to leave with the other man. 'Tri-Spires' This area gets its name from the three massive towers that loom high over the rest of the city. All different in design, these towers could be seen at some distance from the the city. Jester referred to it as the "snooty district of the city".See "Waste and Webs" from 13:13 through 13:16. Laura (in-character) describes the Tri-Spire area of Zadash. 'Chastity’s Nook' Located in the southern quarter of the silken terrace one could find an establishment that had a selection of books dealing with pulp fiction and shitty smut. 'Pillow Trove' The Pillow Trove is the biggest inn in Zadash and serves a more expensive clientele. 'Interstead Sprawl' 'The Archive of the Cobalt Soul' Build of of a main road that make up the western edge of the Pentamarket, this library, maintained by the Cobalt Soul, contained more of the rarer tomes and elaborate writing within the city. Heavily watched, access within required special approval, and those that were granted access were escorted and watched while they perused the interior. Additional rules required that visitors not take anything from within the library. As a landmark seen from a distance, the archive had a tall tapering tower that curves off at the very top to be a very dome-like pinnacle. Flanking the sides of this tower were three smaller spires. The stonework of the main tower appeared to have a smooth concrete looking texture. In the morning sunlight, the tower shone brightly and revealed intricate carvings on the various tiers that spiraled down the tower. Two guards dresses in blue and gray ceremonial robes, similar but more jewled and intricate than those seen on Xenoth, guarded the only entrace, a double door into this tower. 'Visitors' *A human in his late 30s. He has a cluster of small pieces of parchment that are folded and wadded into his arms as he left the Archive. *A human that was well dressed. She looked stoic and well off. She wore a high collared buttoned up blouse two small pockets in the front, an ankle length dress, had very nice shoes, and had a satchel that hung over her left shoulder and fell off on the right side of the body. Nott followed this women as she made her way through the city and attempted to rob her using Mage Hand. 'Platinum House' This shrine to the Platinum Dragon was a beautiful white building with blue tapestries on its outside. The white had a mirror-like reflective quality, which during the day made the building give off a sort of glow like a beacon. This building served for both worship and meditation and held sermons usually around noon. 'Apple Tree Tutor Village' Owned and provided by the Soltryce Academy, these three long buildings were where, for a moderata price, children and adults of a less affluent lifestyle could come and learn basic teachings. The head tutor there is an overworked and relatively stressed out individual named Mikael Drom. He was a very nice fellow, eager to help but the system had been difficult for him. 'King’s Hall ' This massive single 20-foot tall single-story structure of bronze and cobalt acts as the central courthouse of the city. It had long thin windows about every 15-feet. The crownsguard presence around this structure was quite large around this building, with at least ten watching the front as general sentries. 'Taskboard' A ten-foot by five-foot, heavy piece of wooden board stood about four feet from the main entrance to the right. It has a number of pieces of parchment stuck to it, which contained paying work that could be taken on. * 'Heralds' Serving the function of town criers, these individuals disseminated news and proclamations from up on high. They were distinguished by a tabard in the crown's guard colors which they wore over their clothing. *A really thin younger man in his early 20s he had blondish hair. "Attack on Alfield is ended! Terrible fiends responsible put to the sword by a crownsguard and the King's grace!" "Families missing in Nogvurot! Creek kidnappers steal them away in the night! Lock and seal your windows and doors while you slumber!" *A middle-aged woman with hair that was pulled back into a very tight bun with the tufts of curled hair around the edges. "Riot in Rexxentrum squashed for peace! Radical groups brought to justice under the crown!" "Two weeks time to the Harvest Close Festival! Victory Pit in the Pentamarket, entry begins in four days!" 'Crown's Guard Garrison ' 'Points of Interest' 'Wares & Ends' 'Hall of Erudition ' The Solstrice Academy’s academy in the city. 'Steam's Respite' A Reasonable Bathhouse where someone of the fairer races can partake in. 'Signet Wall' The area where the military stays and most of the Crown's Guard was held up. One could apparently find work there. 'Packwears Provisions' A smaller scale smithies that focused on making tools and such. 'Umber Dungeon' The following crimes against the empire which will be met with imprisonment include: *Worship outside the approved idolatry 'The Ossuary Gates' This was a multi-layered catacomb graveyard. 'The Raven's Den ' This shrine located in the center of the graveyard was dedicated to the The Matron of Ravens. 'Factions' 'The Knights of Requital' This group of twenty held their meetings in one of the cellars of the Leaky Tap tavern.Keeping their secretive from outsiders, discussed methods of changing the current political unhappiness in the city of Zadash and beyond. Investigating why this group was meeting, Beau and Fjord joined as new members and listened as members aired their grievances and brought forth for change. 'Known Members' *Dolan Thrym *Kara *Ulog 'The Gentleman' Cautioning jester from using this name out loud, Claudia Sheed mentions that a very specific man who wallows in the mire of the underbelly of the city goes by such a title. 'Residence' 'References' Category:Settlements Category:Settlements in Wildemount Category:Wildemount Category:Cities